School Resource Officer

The Arroyo Grande Police Department recognizes that the health and safety of the youth in our community is one of our greatest responsibilities. As such, the Police Department has formed a partnership with theLucia Mar Unified School Districtto provide a School Resource Officer (SRO) for the schools in the City. Time and time again, across the nation, the presence of an SRO on a school campus has been proven critical to maintaining safety on school campuses for students, staff and visitors. The SRO not only provides an immediate response to threats to safety on school campuses, but also that SRO serves as a pro-active deterrent to activities that might threaten safety on those campuses. In addition, the SRO creates a positive relationship and a bond of trust between students and law enforcement in the school environment.

Under the general supervision of a Watch Commander and/or the Support Services Division Police Commander, the SRO supplements police operations within all the Lucia Mar Unified School District schools in the City of Arroyo Grande, not just the Arroyo Grande High School.

The SRO is responsible for establishing and maintaining effective communication as a liaison among the Police Department, students, staff, and parents to build trust and credibility through increasing positive interactions with the Department. The SRO investigates all complaints of criminal activity on school campuses, including enforcement of state and local statutes, loitering issues, tobacco and truancy issues that may involve arrests and booking when appropriate. At the same time, the SRO assists law enforcement agencies, Probation, and social services agencies in conducting follow-up investigations of incidents in which a student may be involved.

As an integral part of his/her duties, the SRO develops and implements a mentoring program for students and provides classroom presentations on issues including but not limited to illegal drug awareness and abuse, local and state laws, aggression management, truancy, and the role of law enforcement in the community. The SRO provides training for school staff on law enforcement related issues including but not limited to gang awareness and drug/alcohol abuse recognition and evaluates security and monitoring systems at school district buildings, assisting the school administrative staff in evaluating security and emergency response plans and making recommendations when reasonably appropriate.

The SRO is available for conferences with students, facility, and parents and other resources as appropriate to assist with problems involving students including but not limited to law enforcement issues such as gang involvement, drug use, and violence. The Arroyo Grande Police Department SRO is responsible for expanding crime prevention programs including but not limited to gang identification and awareness, self-esteem and sexual assault, family violence, and bullying/aggressive behavior in the school environment.http://www.luciamar.k12.ca.us/education/district/district.php?sectionid=1

You may contact the School Resource Officer or the Support Services Commander by calling 805-473-5110.